Soldier
by olafur
Summary: Energon Chapter 4: Spike experiences his first real combat.
1. Default Chapter

07/07/2005: Before reading below, I would like to tell you that there are some errors in my writing, but I assure you that the chapters after this one will not have any, so please don't stop reading just because of erros on my bart. I want to fix this, but I just don't have time for it at the moment. And I got no idea when I do have the time….

…

…

AUTHOR: First of, major thanks to Ashana, author of the now finished A Broken Spirit, and who has just started on the sequell A Mending Heart. She also took some time to be my beta-reader and point out things in my work. If you like good Armada stories, I definadly recommend her.

Hope you'll like my stuff! Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Transformers characters, only the ones I created.

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Another eletric surge traveled from the cabels and into his spine, nearly frying his heart that was beating so hard it was on the verge of exploding. The body was in too much of a pain….

And there was too much of chaos in his mind.

….

The large Transformer grabbed clumsily at the tank's barrel and ripped it off, then threw it at the soldiers who were firing at him. Two more tanks rolled into the large docking bay, they're guns slowly charging up.

High above, behind the large windows, a different kind of chaos was erupting. Dozens of scientists and engineers either running around or typing madly at they're keyboards, while all the computer screens and monitors were blazing with alerts and error messages.

"Attempting to establish a link failed!"

"Christ, look at these readings! Tremendous stress on his heart and brainwaves are off the scale!"

"There's something wrong with the cables! They're sending eletric surges into his body and there's nothing we can do about!"

"What about his cybernatic implants!"

"Which ones? His arm, his eye or-"

"The ones in his brain you idiot!"

"They are NOT causing any damage nor show any signs of mailfunctioning! But a good surge into them and he'll end up braindead!"

"What about the failsafe! Is it still working?"

"It is. But sir, you're not actually considering to-"

"Damnit, yes I am! Just take a good look out that window and you can see why! I don't know what is going around in his head, but he has already killed severel soldiers and we're running out of options here, people! Save what data we've collected, we're about to pull the plug on this one! Dr. McNeill, charge up the-"

Whatever the one who was obviosly in charge, an elderly man in his late 60's wearing a small nametag that said 'Dr. Archeville, momenterily paused as severell of his colleges looked at him in horror. Or, to be more precise, what was behind him.

Had he been given two seconds, he would have turned towards the large windows and see one of the tanks sailing towards him. Had he been given three seconds, he would have seen that the tank was in the middle of a charge, and on that particularly model, once it started charging it could not cancell it.

The tank crashed through the windows. 2 seconds later, a huge explosion rocked the entire installations, and more sirens went on as everything started to shake. Between the noises of the sirens, the explosions and gunfire, a female computer voice started speaking.

"_Warning. Hull Integitry compromised. Coolant sytems failing. Core overload iminant in. 3. Minutes and. 43. Seconds. Evacuation recommended."_

….

Outside in the middle of an asteroid field, a large explosion came from the biggest rock, blowing away a good chunk.

He stayed still, observing. Waiting to see what would happen.

….

Wether it was a stray shot or some kind of error in the sytem, one of the energy tanks exploded, big enough to blow away a large hole that lead into space. Less then a microsecond later, the air inside the dock was sucked out and bodys and debrise got sucked away as well.

….

Warning sounds and errors filled his vision and mind. He did not even bother to try and understand. Couldn't. He didn't understand anything of what was going on, with the exception of one thing.

He. Had. To. Get. OUT!

And so, he did not resist as he too flew towards the large hole that lead into space.

When he was 'outside' he started spinning and twisting, while having the feeling of getting swalloved by all the pure darkness that was all around him. But somehow he managed to stop himself and saw just in time the large rock where he had been inside, explode in a huge mass of bright light and fire. Chunks of rocks hit his armor, but he barely noticed it.

He just stared where it had once been. Where just a few seconds ago he was going through immense….pain. So much pain. And confusion. So cold.

The ringing in his ears slowly ceased and his heart slowly calmed down, but he was still in much physical pain. He started to move his left hand to his head, but stopped dead cold when he saw a large metal hand in front of him. Not really thinking, he slowly turned his hand and the metal one made the precise moves. But when he curled it into a fist, he nearly flinched when he felt a warm flesh instead of metal.

Bringing his right arm up as well, it too was metal. But when he made a fist, he felt nothing. No flesh. No warmth. Nothing. Hesitandly, he brought the hands together, but when his left hand felt cold metal he flinched away startled. Holding his right hand in front of him, his left almost shakily touched it. There was no mistake. It was flesh touching cold metal. Metal that was roughly shaped like a hand he discovered, as he slowly traiced his right with his left.

He suddenly stopped, and slowly moved his left hand towards his face. In front of him he saw the large metal hand, but he could _feel_ his hand touching his chin, wich was made out of flesh too. But when he moved up, his hand touched something else. Something that felt like…plastic or some kind? It seemed to cover his eyes. Acting without thinking, he grabbed it and started to pull, but when he did he felt it was around his head like some type of helmet, so he started pushing it up.

It took some pushing, but he managed to remove whatever it was, only to have his environment change. All of a sudden he was in what looked like to be a small…room of some kind, but then his left eye suddenly hurt, as if it had been under some stress and was now only relaxing. He closed it, but for some reason his right eye did not cause any pain. In fact, he could see very clearly with it.

The only source of light in the small room were severel screens around him, nearly all of them showing nothing but statics, while 2 or 3 flickered on and off, showing some readings. There was also a large panel under all the screens, filled with buttons and sticks. Leaning closer, he managed to read some of them.

Energy Levels.

Energy Reserves.

Damage Controls.

Weapons.

Thrust Controls.

Transformation.

Communications.

Oxygen Levels.

…..'Transformation'?

The room vibrates a bit as a small explosion is heard. Putting back the headset on him, he sees it was coming from what remained of the place he was at. Once an impressive large rock, it had exploded into two parts, who were now slowly crumbling away. The only signs of what had been inside, was some burned equipmend floating in space and some metal.

Slowly turning his head around, he see's severel rocks all around him, but are either moving around very slow or not at all. But when he turns around a bit more, he see's him.

And just freezes.

There, not too close but not far away was….It? Him? Just…standing/floating among the rocks, looking straight at him.

It was just something about him….his 'stance', how he just stood there among the rocks, the way he was build, the silver-grey armor, how he carried himself radiated so much of….power. And the…blue horns on his head, his crimson eyes, the large wings on his back gaved him a…majestic look.

And the long green sword in his metal hand alone spoke volumes of beeing someone not to be messed with.

….

He didn't know how long they just…looked at each other. Whoever…._he_ was, his crimson eyes looked hard at him, almost into his soul…..

Suddenly, a snort came from his…lips?

"Typical. The humans see something that is not theyres and they try to get they're hands on it and change it to suit they're own needs. Someday it will be they who will destroy they're own race and not us."

His voice was a mixture of arrogance and intelligence. A bit hard to tell which of it was more.

Without even the thought of the possibility the stranger might not hear him, he opened his mouth and spoke.

Well, tried to, anyway.

"…what…" His voice sounded more like a squek or something. His throat was dry and sore from all the screaming just minutes ago. Gathering what salive he could, he swalloved and tried again.

"…what did just h-happen?"

Even though he had no eyebrows, he somehow managed to look like he had one raised.

"So, you do posses some AI in you. Not bad. For humans." He said, then looked towards the smoldering ruins of the former 'secret' installation, momenterily ignoring the 'robot.'

"Are you….like me?"

He looked back at the robot. There was something off about the way it spoke, how it sounded and the way it talked.

"'Like me'? Just what kind of a question is that? Of course you're……unless…." A very unpleasent thought emerged from his logic banks. A thought that needed to be confirmed.

….

SCANNING TARGET.

SCANNING….

SCANNING….

SCAN COMPLETE.

ORGANIC LIFEFORM DETECTED.

….

"Why you….ABOMANATION!" He roared and charged, raising his long blade. But instead of hacking, he twisted his hand so his fist slammed into the robot's chest. The force knocked him backwards and was slammed into a rock that nearly broke into pieces. Before he could gather his senses, a long blade was nearly jabbed into his face. Slowly trailing it upwards, was the attacker in all his glory, looking down at him with fire in his crimson eyes. The strange purple insignia on his chest seemed to glow along with his rage.

"I should have known you weak humans would attempt something like this! It was only a matter of time before you would realise the fact that Optimus PRIME couldn't protect your weak hides forever!" He then raised his long blade up in a striking position.

Instead of begging for mercy, crying out for help or simply scream like his mind was telling him to, his mouth had another idea.

"Who is Optimus Prime?"

For a moment or two, it didn't look like he had heard the question, he still had that furios look on his face and still held his blade high, but he didn't strike either. Nor did he move at all, for that matter.

That is, untill he 'blinked'.

"……what did you just say?"

"Who is Optimus Prime?"

For what felt like a long time, he said nor moved at all. His eyes, however, did look less furios and more like he was repeating the question to himself severel times, before finally feeling satisfied to answer.

"….he is the leader of the Autobots."

'Autobots…..'

'….a new word….'

'Autobots….'

'Autobots….'

'……Autobots?'

"Who are the Autobots?"

It was…difficult to descripe his expression. Surprise. Bewilderment. Annoyence…? Probably since the human was completly ignoring the deadly-situation he was in. Or he didn't simply know who it was that was standing before him.

_Hmm, probably the latter._

He slowly lowered his blade to his side, but made it clear he was still considering to slash him, as he looked down at him, his logic circuits going over the new data. His curiosity had been slightly poked.

"Tell me your earlies memorys, _human._" He commanded/sneered, his contempt for him obvios.

"My earliest memorys?"

Cold….

So cold….

And….

!PAIN!

OHMYGODWHATISHAPPENINGWHAT'SGOINGONOHGODTHEPAINTHECOLDSOCOLDINSIDEMELIKEFROZENINSIDEI'MBURNINGINSIDEAMONFIRECAN'TBREATHEMUSTBREATHECAN'TGETOUTMUSTGETOUTMUSTGETOUTMUSTGETOUTOUTOUTOUTOUT

He snapped back to reality, breathing deeply as cold sweat covered his face and his heart beated fast and strong.

"Well?" He snapped impatiendly. Slowly, the human looked up to him.

"…pain. I remember…pain. I was so…cold. I had to get out." Slowly, he turned his head to the right and watched the remaining burning debris that had scattered across the asteroid field.

"What did they do to me? What have I….become?" He half talked to himself half mumbled, but if he had expected sympathi from the large Transformer, he received none.

"Hmph. A weapon, from the looks of it." His gaze turned back towards him.

"A weapon?"

"Yes. And no doubt you were a soldier selected to control they're first…._robotic war-machine._" His last words dribbed in venom, but it went unoticed by the human, as a new word in that sentance had caught his attention.

'soldier…'

'I know that word….'

"Soldier." He said aloud, not looking up to the large Transformer.

"Hm?" Slowly, he lifted his head towards him again.

"Soldier. Someone who has been trained in combat, whose sole's purpose is to follow orders given to him by his commanding officer." Again he had that raised-eyebrow expression, but it quickly left when he opened his mouth.

"Why yes, that is correct. My, aren't you a clever one." Again with the heavy sarcasm, except this time he looked like he wanted to pat him on the head just for kicks.

But then, the human gathered what little he knew. To try and find out what to do next.

….

'A weapon, made to fight, to win wars.'

'I am a soldier. Except there is no-one to give me orders. I _need_ orders, otherwise I can not fullfill my purpose.'

'My purpose.'

'Is to fight. Yes. I am to cause death, or become dead. And that's it.'

'That is all I am suppose to do.'

'Follow orders, no matter what they may be.'

'After all, I am only….'

'….a soldier.'

….

"Am I…._your_ soldier?"

"………………I beg your _pardon_?" His tone held a certain edge. An edge that said 'you'd better explain quickly before I kill you.'

"I am a soldier. It is obvios to me now. But there is no-one here to tell me what to do, to give me orders, to give me a purpose. That is, with the exception of you." The Transformer said nothing, but had a hard look on his face that told him wordlessly to continue.

"And I do not know how or why, but you strike me as…an authority. Someone who has fought and knows how to use soldiers. Soldiers like me."

His face remained unchanged, though his crimson eyes slowly narrowed.

"And just what makes you want to be under _my command_? Because your life is in my hands!" He shouted, striking his blade towards the human, but at the last second the blade took a slight turn and sank into the rock itself, right next to his head. His tone was far, far more different. He was, in every sense of the word, dead serios. And he expected a dead serios answer.

"You order your men to attack the enemy. Your enemy fights back and sends soldiers to attack you in return. I see no difference here. No 'good side' nor 'bad side'. Just two sides. Nothing more, nothing less."

Slowly, the horned Transformer leaned closer, his face looking even more harder.

"And what if I _order_ you to kill humans, you're own species? What will you do then?" Give him the wrong answer and he would kill the human. Both of them knew that, in a way.

"Back at that place, there were soldiers who tried to stop me. I can not recall exactly how many I killed before the hull-breach, but I would guess around 20. Bottom line is, they too were soldiers, and like any other soldier, we are faced with the possibility that when we enter a battle, it may well be our last. If we try to ignore that fact, then we are nothing but pretenders."

There was no reaction to his words. No change in his face or even a twinkle in his eyes as he loomed over him. But slowly, he pulled out his blade from the rock, pointed it at his face and slowly trailed it down the chest, untill it stoped in front of long oranged-colored windows like it was for some sort of a cokpit.

And somehow, he knew that's where the small room was, with all the screens and buttons. Where _he_ was.

He slowly looked back up to him, waiting to see what he would do. Waiting…unafraid.

Suddenly, his head bent backwards and he started laughing.

"MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! To think of all the trouble they must have gone through, only to have they're precios weapon destroy the place and ask to join the very side he's suppose to fight against!" He started laughing again, though it was not nearly as powerfull as the first. But when he stopped, he withdrew his long blade and offered his large hand to him.

"Welcome aboard, _soldier_." He said mockingly. The human looked at the offered hand, but when he reached for it, it moved at lightning speed, grabbed his throat and yanked him up close, they're noses nearly touching.

Even though his real body was in the robot's chest area and not the head, thanks to the headset he was wearing it felt like they were truly face-to-face. He could nearly feel the heat coming from his eyes as he growled out his words.

"With the exception of Optimus Prime and his precios Autobots, there are two things I despise the most: Insoburdination and betrayel. In that order. For you see, it has been my experience on plenty ocasions that when someone under my command starts mis-behaving, questioning my orders, betrayel is more closer then some would want to belive." His large fingers tightened around the robot's neck, the metal squeeking as it slowly got bend.

"Understand this, _soldier_: I expect you to do _exactly_ as I tell you to. I order you to kill, you ask how many. I order you to take over enemy position, you ask how much time you have. And if I'll have even just the slightest suspicion of you going behind my back or so much as give me a disrespectfull glance, I. Will. Kill. You. Understand?"

His reply already felt automatic.

"Yes, sir."

"Good."

He released his grib and pushed him away, holding his head high as he still somehow managed to 'look down' at his newest recruit.

"Now, I belive some introductions are in order. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticon army and soon to be the ruler of the universe!" He raised his voice at the last part, if only for dramatics. And when he frowned at the human some seconds later, he realised he too was to give his name.

"My name is…."

Blank.

Nothing.

"Well?" His Commanding Officer snapped at him, his crimson eyes slowly narrowing.

"I…have no name."

A slight groan came from him, he started massaging his temple.

"Well then, I suggest you find one quickly. Before Cyclonus starts with the old 'Squishy' thing again." He mumbled, but it didn't look like the human had heard him.

He gazed off somewhere, his mind taking in the scenary, searching for words and what little he knew about names.

But then, the word just suddenly appeared in his thoughts. Wether if it was just a word, a name he had before or someone else's, he decided to take it.

"Call me Spike."


	2. sorry

Okay, I am really, _really _sorry, but this is not a chapter. In fact, I am considering re-writting Soldier all together.

See, someone who I've started chatting with, who is also a Transformers fan, pointed out severel mistakes on my part, particulary that after telling the storyline, also pointed out to me it was actually a Mary Sue fic. And from my experience, that's a really, **really** bad thing. At least, in my books.

Anyway, bottom line is, I really want to write a good Transformers fic, I only dont know how long its gonna take me re-writting it all. The last thing I want is to dissapoint people who like good stories. It's probably gonna take me a while, but I intend to do this carefully.

Deepest apologizes to those who have read Soldier and liked it.


	3. Kobayashi Maru

Author: I am terribly, terribly sorry for my last 'post.' I went through some depression, doubts, started planning on re-writing the whole darn thing but when I dreamed I got kicked by a donkey one night, I finally decided to just continue with what I had started at, and see how it would turn out. I only hope that there are still people out there who are still willing to read this….

Some parts were written in a bit of a rush. Maybe you'll notice, maybe you won't.

Final Note: I now have, with Ashana beeing okay about it, gotten a new beta-reader. I owe Spidergirl a LOT (not sure what her name is on and she also edited some of this stuff, though it was mostly dumb mistakes on my part that I had overlooked when I send this to her. And may she continue to be my beta-reader.

…

…

Chapter 2: Kobayashi Maru.

7 Days Later….

After circling around the planet, the two air fighters made their way into space, heading towards what looked like a small moon, in a tight formation.

One of the fighters resembled a jet, the area around its cockpit painted in red. Its main hull silver and its wings were black with the Decepticon symbol on them. Attached to both wings were two long green colored objects.

As for the other, if someone had looked at it in the middle of space, he or she would have done a double take just to be sure he or she had seen right. While the other fighter resembled a jet, the other one _was _a jet. An F-17 to be precise, which somehow didn't seem to have any problems flying in space. Its entire hull was painted black, with interspersing patches of white. The windows in the cockpit were yellow-orange and on each wing was the purple Decepticon insignia. The jet, like its companion, looked like it was build for speed and maneuverability.

As they approached the small moon, the leading fighter opened communication.

"Report."

"Negative finding, sir. I searched thoroughly in section 3-7G and 6-2B but did not detect any Energon signals nor any energy of any kind."

"Understood. We'll now head back to the Fortress; I'm in need of some re-charge. After that, we'll continue with your training."

"Yes sir."

The two fighters continued making their way towards the moon, still in flying in tight formation.

"Permission to speak, sir?"

A couple of seconds passed before the leading fighter replied. "Granted."

"Sir, we are now scanning the remaining planets in this sector and have yet to discover any Energon crystals. And the only energy sources that have been located were these crystals on that desert planet. So how come General Megatron did not give out the order to gather them, but instead ordered us to continue searching on the remaining planets?"

"That's because of the fact that a ton of those crystals barely hold a third of the energy contained in a handful of Energon crystals. General Megatron wants us to search and located Energon, instead of wasting time gathering scraps."

"Understood, sir."

Silence resumed as they continued their flight.

…

_Even in space, the feeling of flying is…indescribable. I can go and move nearly 3 times faster after the energy core in my Mech was replaced by another type that Decepticon air units had, or so I was told._

_I am still getting to know how my Mech works and it's limits. I have yet to have the chance to enter real combat, but until that time comes, I am to be trained hard. But what has me somewhat surprised is how…easy it is for me to fly. I cannot but wonder if I have past experience in flying. Perhaps something prior to my…._

Staying on the Mech's subject, Demolisher mentioned something a couple of days ago about something called Unicron that might be able to upgrade my Mech, but a hard glare from General Megatron silenced him and I took it as a hint to not ask about it.

_It has been nearly seven days since General Megatron became my Commanding Officer. His Second-In-Command, Starscream, has been assigned to train me since both of us are air units. So far, our training has been flight combat simulations. _

_Starscream is a highly skilled soldier in the air. So far I have not seen him fight on the ground, but I have been told that he is skilled at that as well. I assume that I will get to see him fight in both places sooner or later. However, what has me slightly concerned is my lack of knowledge regarding the Autobots, the side that we are meant to fight. So far, no one has taken his time to properly explain to me why-_

**WARNING! MISSILE DETECTED! EVADE! EVADE! **

Spike abruptly stopped writing as warning sounds came from all around the cockpit. Quickly canceling the autopilot, he grabbed both the steering stick and the thrust-stick, pushed them to full power and spun the Mech.

A missile went through the space where the Mech's left wing had been less then a microsecond ago. It continued its passage into space for a few seconds until it exploded.

An all too familiar maniac laughter reached his sound sensors.

"Careful, Metal-Squishy, I almost got you this time! Hahaaa!" Cyclonus in his helicopter mode emerged from the moon's shadow, still giggling to himself as he approached Spike and Starscream.

A second later, Starscream transformed and had his green optics narrowed at Cyclonus in anger and annoyance.

"Cyclonus! That's the third time you've tried to do that! And I recall to have told you twice already to stop it!"

"Aw, come on Starscream! I'm just making sure our Metal-Squishy here is paying attention, that's all! Transform!" Cyclonus had a grin that matched his laugh.

"Hey, what's going on here?" asked an arriving Demolisher.

"Your 'partner' here tried for the third time to blow up Spike, that's what!" Starscream snapped. Demolisher simply looked at Cyclonus, his expression looking like someone had told him the same joke for the tenth time that day. Cyclonus' grin only widened.

Quickly shaking his head, Demolisher turned back to Starscream.

"We just finished searching those two planets. No Energon detected. How about you?"

"Negative. Has Megatron returned yet?" replied Starscream, looking a little less angry now.

"Nope. Still checking out that asteroid field. What is he expecting to find?" Demolisher asked no one in particular, but his gaze fell on Spike, who was still in his jet mode.

"What I wanna know is why he gets all the Terrorcons! Our job would be a lot easier and quicker if we had those Energon sniffers with us!" Cyclonus whined, earning a hard glare from Starscream.

"Because he is our leader and he does what he wants, Cyclonus." Starscream growled and Cyclonus raised his hands defensively. Before he spoke, Spike finally broke his silence.

"Sir, my Mech's energy levels are now at 35 percent. Requesting permission to go and recharge."

"Granted." Without another word, Spike flew of towards the Fortress. Cyclonus grinned and raised his hand and aimed another rocket at the retreating jet, but Demolisher knocked his hand away.

"Knock it off, it wasn't even funny the first time." Cyclonus pouted for a moment, then looked at the retreating jet before turning back to the other two Decepticons, his arms folded across his chest.

"I don't like him."

There was no need to reveal whom Cyclonus was talking about. It was a subject that had been repeatedly discussed behind Megatron's back.

"I think you've made that point more then obvious, Cyclonus." Starscream said dryly, knowing full well where the conversation would lead.

"Look Starscream, I-I'm not questioning Megatron's decision or anything, but you gotta admit, his decision on our…our newest member is a bit strange!" stated Demolisher, earning a glare from Cyclonus at the 'member' part. Demolisher ignored him and went on.

"I mean, to all of a sudden just show up with that human on our doorstep, telling us something about a memory loss because of some experiment that involved humans able to control these…these…well, seeing that lousy robot copy actually made me feel offended, you know!"

"Hah! Tell me about it!" Cyclonus barked.

Demolisher kept talking. "I mean, I can see the advantage to have one around, to see how it performs and stuff, since we have no idea how many have been made and…"

Realizing he was getting off the subject, Demolisher cleared his throat and spoke a bit more calmly.

"All I'm saying is, to have something around that is suppose to fight us and being controlled by a human who _claims_ to have no memory, can be risky. That's all." Demolisher finished talking, but Starscream's expression did not change in the slightest.

There was an awkward silence.

"Umm….so…Starscream. What's uh….what's your take on him? Think he's trying to trick us?"

"You tell me, Demolisher. After all, did you not spent nearly 10 years around them on their home planet?"

"Uh…well, you see…" It was a subject Demolisher preferred not be brought up, as it was obviously an uncomfortable topic. "I, uh….m-mostly just kept to myself, y'know?"

Neither Starscream nor Cyclonus said anything, but simply looked at the stuttering Demolisher.

"I uh….g-gotta go and….and uh, recharge," the tank mumbled, before flying off towards the Fortress. Starscream and Cyclonus exchanged looks, then Starscream transformed as well and left, leaving Cyclonus alone.

"Man, can't wait to see Tidal Wave and Scorponok reaction on our newest 'member,'" he said to himself sarcastically, before transforming and flying towards the Fortress as well.

…

Squeezing his fists even tighter and clenching his jaws to the point of risking breaking his own teeth were all that prevented Spike from screaming out in pure pain as the cables slowly withdrew themselves one by one from his spine. When the final one had completely pulled, Spike gasped for air and breathed heavily, his face wet with cold sweat and his heart beating hard.

When his pace had slowed, he reached for his helmet, placed it on, and breathed the air in it, before pressing one of the buttons on the control panel next to him.

Outside, the cockpit on the Mech's chest slowly opened and Spike emerged. Spike jumped down without hesitation after looking down from his place. The long fall would have broken a normal person's legs when they hit the ground, but Spike landed without any signs of discomfort or pain. Standing upright, he looked up as the cockpit closed and the recharger started recharging the Mech.

Walking outside, he made his way through corridors that were made for far larger beings then himself until he reached a door that was surprisingly small compared to everything else. Spike pressed a small button next to it and the door opened, revealing a room that was smaller then a broom closet. Walking in, the door closed and air hissed in. Three seconds later, another door in front of him opened and he walked through.

The room held next to no furniture. A steel bed, a steel desk with a computer and an odd looking canister containing some blue sparkling goo sat next to it, it. Walking up to the computer and the canister, he removed the upper part of his black jumpsuit, exposing his chest.

The steel walls around him mirrored his image.

A young man looking to be around 20-21 years old was reflected back to him, with dark brown hair that was cut military style and a left eye that was an even darker brown then his hair. As for his right eye, well, the glass color in his cyber-eye was green.

And his right 'eye' was not the only thing metal on him. His entire right arm and nearly half the right side of his chest were metal. The arm itself looked like it had been pieced together from junk with stubby metal fingers and exposed wires in his 'elbow' area. The only things that seemed to keep the pieces together were the screws.

Using his left hand, he opened a small panel on his metal wrist, then reached to the canister and pulled out a tube and inserted it in the arm. The blue goo traveled through the tube and into the arm, giving Spike nutrients.

Spike began typing on the computer while more goo traveled through the tube, his metal fingers working just as fast as his left ones. Images of his Mech appeared on the screen, showing the inside workings, along with some data on the mechanism. After going over it, he exited and began typing again.

_Day 7_

_No Energon signatures detected on the planets Starscream and I were send to scan. Neither Demolisher nor Cyclonus were unable to find anything. General Megatron has yet to return. Only two more planets remain unsearched in this sector. After Starscream has finished recharging, we will resume my training. Until that happens, I will be studying my Mech more closely, to familiarize myself more with it._

_Final Note: For the third time since my arrival here, Cyclonus fired at me with the intention of destroying me. I am beginning to believe he has something against me._

…

…

The silver colored jet skillfully dodged the shots coming from the black jet. Increasing its speed, it headed towards the nearest moon with Spike pursuing closely. Spike fired more shots, but none hit Starscream as he continued what looked like a crash towards the moon. At the last moment, Starscream pulled back just before he would had hit the moon's surface. Spike did not stop his pursuit as both of them flew along the moon's surface.

A rocket was fired from the black jet, but just as it got dangerously close to Starscream, he took a sharp turn to the right so the only thing between the jet and the rocket was a large rock that blew into pieces when the rocket hit it. The pieces were thrown in several directions, many hitting Spike as he flew past the blast site, but managed to hold a steady course and continued his pursuit.

Both jets entered an area with a small narrowed canyon. Starscream flew down and entered it and Spike did not hesitate in following.

The path was just big enough for the jets and didn't give much space to maneuver, yet Starscream flew like he knew the area precisely while Spike tried his best to mimic the flying while still getting a clear shot.

Before he could do this, however, the other jet fired at one of the walls in its path. Several chunks of rocks that were larger then the two jets combined started falling down just as Starscream flew past them. Spike had two choices: slow down and wait until the rockslide was over, or increase speed and attempt to fly by before the rocks blocked the path.

Spike increased his speed and flew closer and closer to the ground as the rocks fell down. For just a split second, it looked like he had made it, but a large rock landed on the jet's back, pushing it to the ground and sending sparks everywhere as it got dragged across the surface. However, the jet's vibration made the rock fall off so it managed to lift off the ground, only to face another problem.

The canyon passage was reaching its dead end and at the speed Spike was going at, if he hit the wall destruction was all but certain.

He immediately started pulling up.

He got closer and closer to the wall.

The distance between the jet and the edge was as long as Spike's thumb, as he just barely managed to escape certain death.

Only to get shot.

…

**100 DAMAGE. GAME OVER.**

The message flashed repeatedly in front of Spike's eyes, as he slowed his Mech down to a standstill, then turned towards where Starscream was, on the moon's surface still in his jet mode and just a couple of feet away from the edge.

"Transform!" yelled Starscream as Spike made his way down on the ground. Without a word, Spike reached out and touched the transformation button, landing on two feet and standing at attention before Starscream.

"Tell me where you went wrong," Starscream said, in a stern but not angry tone. Reflecting on the events before, along with his actions and its consequences, Spike answered Starscream.

"Sir, waiting until the rocks had stopped falling would have been the better option, sir."

"For you, perhaps, but then you would have given your target plenty of time to escape with whatever data or information it had gathered, or to get reinforcements," Starscream stated, this time with a slightest edge in his voice. Taking in the new information, Spike experienced confusion in himself.

"But sir, the situation I was in offered only 2 choices. Risk following you or wait until the path was safe."

"But long before I even entered the canyon, you had a third option. Destroying your target before it lead you into a situation that favored it."

"What do you mean, sir?" In a way, Spike by now knew what lesson Starscream was teaching him about how to fight, but he also knew he had to ask him nonetheless to fully understand it.

Starscream said nothing, instead taking steps towards Spike, who did not waver even as Starscream's face was nearly touching his.

"Never take your time in killing your target. Never play with him, even if in a battle that _seems_ to be all but won. Your opponent, should he be given the chance, could very easily learn your moves within seconds, find out what attacks you favor and just how brutal you are. When you know all these things about an opponent, you could very easily find a weak spot and use it to finish him off. Even if he has more firepower or even skills or experience, when you _know_ who you are fighting against, his weakness becomes greater then yours. Remember that, soldier." Starscream's green optics were just slightly narrowed. It was situations like these when Spike truly felt like he was not in his Mech.

"Yes sir. I understand."

Starscream silently nodded, but before he could say anything else, the sounds of static were heard and Megatron's voice sounded.

"Starscream! Stop whatever you're doing and report back! Energon has finally been located and we're moving out to collect!"

"Understood, sir." Starscream responded as Megatron's transmission ended, then turned to Spike.

"You heard him. Let's move." Starscream jumped into the air, followed by a cry of "Transform!" Spike jumped up as well, and soon the two jets made their way towards the flying fortress.


	4. Ready Or Not

AUTHOR: Am really sorry for how long it took me to write this. Had a bit of a Writer's Block and I also discovered something remarkable! Stories dont write themselves! Wow, I never would have imagined! Anyway, better late then never, I guess. I only hope I didn't update for too long.

Special thanks to Seiberwing for beeing my beta-reader. She sure isin't shy in sharing her opinions!

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Chapter 3: Ready Or Not...

Megatron was in a lousy mood.

But it was not because of how long it had taken them to finally find some Energon, or having to listen to Cyclonus' whining about how bad it was having the human around, or only now finding out that the energy generators that were designed specifically to contain processed Energon had NOT been installed yet, despite Megatron ordering Scorponok to do so before they left Unicron.

No, it was because as he stood overlooking the launch bay that contained the 6 cargo ships, he was reminded of what state his once-grand army had been reduced to. The cargo ships, created by Unicron, looked similar to the troop transports that carried squadrons of soldier into the heat of battle. Just looking at them brought back memories of the 'good old days.'

_Ah, I still remember a time when the Decepticon Empire was at its greatest. We spread ourselves throughout the galaxy as our numbers poured out of the factories. I can still remember the heat of battle as we conquered Autobot planets, the thrill of watching their puny starships fall before ours, the satisfaction of seeing yet another Autobot sector on Cybertron fall._

_And now look at us._

_Barely a handful of us are left, while the rest are either rusting in prison or have betrayed me by bowing before the Autobots. Bowing before _Prime

Snarling, Megatron kicked an unfortunate Terrorcon that was passing by. It crashed into the wall and unsteadily got back to its feet before running away. away, making pitiful whining noises.

Megatron didn't even notice. His optics flared up as his anger increased.

_Prime._

_How I loathe that name._

_But you haven't beaten me, oh no, Prime. Far from it. Through Unicron, I shall re-build my army back to its former glory! With you and your precious Autobots removed, nothing will stop us to claim the entire _universe_ as ours!_

_It will be a great pleasure to watch your smoldering remains as I-_

Clang!

Megatron got pulled back to the real world by the sounds of something loud landing on the launch bay, followed by an angry shout.

"You idiot! You could have blown us both up with your clumsiness!" screamed Cyclonus, shaking his fists at Demolisher.

"Hey! It's not my fault! You think it's easy walking backwards carrying that thing?" shouted Demolisher, looking quite furious. It was impossible to hear exactly what they were saying as they began arguing loudly, but you could get the impression of the words.

Lying forgotten next to them on the floor was one of the energy generators. Designed to hold and protect processed Energon crystals, its only weakness was that it was very fragile outside a ship and could very easily become unstable and explode. Megatron could only sigh as he ran a hand over his face.

_I am surrounded by idiots who are supported by morons._

"Just _what_ is going on in here?" he bellowed, his thundering voice nearly making everything vibrate. The pair nearly jumped into each other's arms out of sheer fright and surprise, quickly looking around and seeing Megatron standing on the catwalk.

"M-Megatron, sir! We ah, well you see ah…." stuttered Demolisher, slipping on his own words. Cyclonus took the initiative.

"Ah, Megatron, sir, we ah, ha-had a little accident here, bu-but it's nothing, really. We're fine, e-everything is fine here. Uh, h-how are you? Sir?"

From where Cyclonus and Demolisher were standing, they could only see the outlines of Megatron's form in the shadows above. However, they could clearly see his optics become brighter, making them both cringe and take a tiny step backwards.

"You will resume installing those generators, if you value your Sparks." Spoke a very deadly calm Megatron, which was even more dangerous and twice as deadly then an angry one, something that both Demolisher and Cyclonus were more then aware of.

"_Sir! Yes sir!"_ they both shouted and saluted, then immediately jumped at the generator and continued carrying it towards the nearest cargo ship.

Megatron's eyes trailed from his 'soldiers' towards the launch bay doors, where the planet with the Energon was in plain view.

….

"So, this is Energon." Spike said to no one particular. He was standing outside his Mech, holding an Energon crystal that was the size of a football. Several Terrorcons were gathered around him, some simply sitting on the ground waiting, while others ran around, looking for more Energon to eat and process.

Their location on the planet was in the mountains. Just a couple of feet away from Spike was a large cave where the most concentrated Energon had been located. Nearly all of the Terrorcons were full, but the cargo ship had yet to arrive to take them back to the Fortress. A Terrorcon walked up to Spike and made a hissing, snarling sound. Spike looked from the crystal to the Terrorcon, his human eyebrow slightly raised. Something that resembled a bark came from the Terrorcon, and Spike looked again at the crystal, then back at the Terrorcon. He lowered his hand and the Terrorcon jumped, snatched the crystal and immediately started eating it.

While Spike watched it with mixed curiosity, the radio inside his helmet crackled to life and Starscream's voice was heard.

"_Spike, get ready. The first cargo ship is on its way."_

"Yes sir." Turning his back to the Terrorcon, Spike made his way to his Mech. Standing before it, Spike jumped several feet up to the Mech's knee section, grabbed a small handle, then jumped up next to the cockpit. Grabbing another handle, he swung himself into the open cockpit and pressed a button. The hatch started closing as he braced himself for the needles to enter their places.

Less then twenty seconds later, the Mech was ready for action.

"Am ready and standing by, sir," said Spike.

"_I'm above you, Spike. Come and join me,"_ said Starscream. Spike looked up and saw Starscream's figure high above him. Engaging the thrusters on his Mech's back, Spike flew up and landed next to Starscream, who was looking up in the sky and watching for something. Following his line of sight, Spike saw a tiny spark in the sky, no doubt the cargo ship entering orbit.

"Tell me something, Spike," said Starscream without looking at him. He did not use a commanding voice, but rather spoke as if he simply wanted to ask something.

"Sir?"

"I may not know much about what humans are capable of, but I know enough to know that these jumps you took to reach your mech are next to impossible for human standards. Is it your suit that gives you the boost?"

Spike remained silent for a couple seconds before answering.

"No, sir. What little data that was stored in my Mech contained a bit of information regarding my suit. Instead of boosting my strength or speed, it instead protects my body from blows, somehow absorbing it. It is my own legs that enable me to jump so high, as they seem to have been…modified." Starscream turned his gaze away from the incoming cargo ship and looked at Spike.

"You mean your legs are like your arm?"

Again, Spike remained silent for some seconds before answering The Mech's head went down slightly.

"No…no sir, my legs are not pure metal. After conducting a scan of my body, I saw that several parts of my legs have several cybernetic implants, which I believe is what is giving me added boost. I also noticed several old fractures in my leg bones, so I assume the implants were placed there so I would not lose my legs."

"I see." Starscream commented with a neutral face, before looking back up in the sky. A low thunder was slowly growing as the cargo ship got closer and closer.

…

Meanwhile, deep in space on the other side of the planet…

"…and then I said, that's not the oil barrel!"

This was followed by a snicker, but the rest did not join in.

"That little joke of yours stopped being funny a looong time ago, Red 3," one of the other jets said.

"Aww, come on Red, it wasn't _that_ bad!"

"It was, and it's Red 1 as well you know!" snapped Red 1, with a slight greater authority and maturity then Red 3.

"Jeez, relax Red _One_. And since we are on that subject, just how long are we gonna call ourselves Red something and Blue something?"

"Until I say your training is complete. You got a problem with that, cadet?" asked Jetfire, who had flown right next to Red 3 without the other jet even noticing. For a moment Red 3 looked like he had forgotten how to fly, but he quickly recovered.

"S-sir no sir!"

"Well, good to hear. Mind getting back into formation, then?"

"Sir yes sir! Uh, I-I mean no sir! Ah, I mean, I uh, ah…" Jetfire knew laughing wouldn't help bolstering the rookie's confidence, but he just couldn't help himself.

"Just relax Red 3 and fly back in formation. We're reaching our destination anyway," added Jetfire, after looking around quickly and finally choosing a planet for they're next exercise in gravity flying and combat.

"Yes sir." mumbled an embarrassed Red 3 and tried to ignore the snickers coming from the Blue team.

….

Megatron marched up to the sensor controls while warning sounds sounded all over the ship, telling him that the ship's sensors had detected enemy energy signatures. Megatron brought up a 3-D map, revealing the planet they were in orbit with and several red dots closing in on the other side of the planet.

Megatron frowned angrily. "Damn it all!"

Resisting the urge to smash the controls, Megatron opened a commlink to Demolisher.

"Demolisher! Come in, Demolisher!"

"_M-Megatron, sir! We just finished installing the second generator and are about to-"_

"No! Do _not_ launch the second ship! And don't send any long range communications either!" A second or two passed before Demolisher responded.

"_Uh, sir? But I thought you told us to-"_

"It isn't your job to think, soldier! Do as your told!" snapped Megatron before he cut the link. As he eyed the red dots coming closer and closer to the planet, Megatron opened an encrypted communication link to Starscream.

"Starscream? Come in Starscream!"

…

"_Starscream!"_

"Megatron, sir. The Terrorcons have just finished loading the Energon and-"

"_No! Don't send the cargo ship up!"_

Starscream and Spike exchanged looks before Starscream looked up into the sky and responded, "Sir?"

"_Enemy units are approaching the planet. Until we know what they want, you are to remain undetected. And don't open any commlinks until I say so."_ With that, Megatron terminated the link.

Again Starscream and Spike shared a look, but this one was different. Without a word, both of them literally jumped into action. Both hid behind the nearby rock formations, giving them a perfect view over the mountains and, even better, a place for a sneak attack should it come to that. Below them in the canyon was the cargo ship, fully loaded but still waiting to be told to return to the Fortress. The Terrorcons were in the cave, looking for more Energon. All they could do now was wait.

…

_What a nice looking place, _Jetfire thought to himself as he and his cadets flew over the vast landscape. There were mountains to the north and east, an ocean to the west and a vast area of desert and canyons lay in the southern region.

_In other words, a great place for some training. Too bad I won't be able to join in._

Jetfire started to land and the rest followed. When he was close enough, Jetfire transformed, grabbed the package that had been in his cockpit and landed on a large hill that gave a good view over the surrounding area. Jetfire admired the view while the word 'Transform!' was shouted six times behind him. Turning around, Jetfire couldn't help but feel proud of his cadets. They all had the same basic body type, with subtle differences in shape and color. Three of them had red wings while the other three had blue wings. The colors would be removed once they graduated.

"All right, listen up! Today's training will be dog-fighting inside a planet's gravity. I want both teams to split up, wait five minutes and then start fighting. As much as I would like to join in, I'm afraid I can't."

With that, Jetfire placed the package he had been carrying on the ground, while a confused Red 1 asked, "Sir? You will not be observing us?"

" 'Fraid not." Jetfire said while opening the package, revealing a rather odd looking device.

"Then…how will you be able to see our flying?"

"Through this. Been a while since I last used this special scanner, mostly since I prefer seeing things through my own optics. With luck, I wont have to use this again." Jetfire pressed a button and the device started slowly spinning, as beeping sounds emitted from it.

"Uh, sir? What is it doing?"

"It's scanning the surrounding areas. It's a bit of a like a recorder. It will record what is happening around it. It's range is pretty far, in fact this entire section of this planet is now beeping recorded so when I get back I'll be able to see what you guys have been up to and if you've been doing what I told you to do." The device stopped beeping but kept spinning as it recorded.

"But where are you going, sir?" Since they were still cadets they didn't exactly have the highest security level, but Jetfire wasn't one of those Autobots officers who read the rulebook fifty times before recharging and then fifty again more just to be safe.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that despite our Intelligence Agency's best efforts, the rumors regarding this particular system have been floating around for the past days. Am I right?"

The Autobots' Intelligence Agency might have done many things during the war. It worked at infiltrating enemy ranks, breaking codes, finding the enemy's next target and tactics and was also so exceptionally good at keeping things on 'Need-to-know' basis that it had made Jetfire's systems create a spark or two in total frustration on many occasions for being kept in the dark.

But no matter how good it was, controlling rumors was beyond its reach.

"Ah, well sir, we did hear just before leaving Cybertron that Autobot scouts had found….something."

Despite Red 1's ambition of someday being a Wing Commander, his skills were put to their limits by trying to stand at attention and keep a steady voice, while the rest of Red and Blue team either looked at the sky in case of a Decepticon surprise attack or found something more interesting on the ground.

"Oh, they found something, all right. Didn't have time to read the full report but from the looks of things there was some kind of a base inside a large asteroid. And it didn't look like it was of Decepticon origin, either."

That caught their attention.

"_Not _Decepticon?"

"Sir, what do you-"

"Another side maybe? I wonder what they look-"

"Maybe a new enemy? Slag, if we weren't suffering enough-"

"Hey! Cut the chatter and stand at attention!" yelled a slightly put off Jetfire.

"_Sir! Sorry, sir!" _shouted all six cadets, immediately standing at attention. Some even saluted.

Okay, maybe, just maybe I've been slightly too lax with them about authority… 

"Ah, look. I'll be away for a while to see how the salvage is going in that asteroid field. Not sure _what_ has been found but my curiosity has been piqued, so...I'll trust that you guys will follow my instructions. And this planet better not be in smoldering ruins when I get back!"

Just like that, the Air Commander transformed into jet mode and flew off, leaving his cadets to watched the jet move further and further away.

"….sooo….what did he tell us to do again?"

…

As Megatron watched the 3-D map of the planet, he did not know whether it was out of sheer luck or something else that made the retreating Autobot fly in almost the same direction he came in, preventing him from spotting the Fortress. However, the remaining six Autobots stayed behind in a tight group. They certainly didn't act like a strike force or a search team for Energon.

Unless…

"Oh, you just _have_ to be joking! Of all the…gah!" cursed a rather furious Megatron. His thoughts were confirmed when the Fortress' scanners picked up a small signal coming from the enemy group. It was a special Autobot scanner that was primarily used as either to observe a certain part of a planet or a sector in space, or for trainers to observe their cadets.

Megatron voted for the latter. And it didn't improve his mood one bit.

"Curse them all! I'll unleash my wrath upon them and-" Amidst his anger and fury, a tiny thought sparked in his memory banks. It was the rare kind of a spark that made Megatron stop whatever he was doing, whether it was forming a battle plan or when he was in his own sea of rage.

The spark made him remember something. Or, to be more precise, some_one_.

Megatron slowly lowered his arms that just been shaking in fury. His head bowed just a little as he remained in his own silence. He looked like he was brooding, but someone like Cyclonus or Demolisher or anyone that knew Megatron would have seen that the Decepticon General was in deep thought. The type of thought that spelled quick doom for anyone that would interrupt him.

Finally, he raised his head again, his face calm but serious.

"Hmm….yes, I believe it is time for our newest member to show just how much he is…willing to fight."

…

"_Starscream."_

"Yes sir?"

"_It would appear our planet has just been selected as an Autobot training ground. I want you and Spike to make sure that they will not discover what we're doing here. Eliminate them all."_

"As you wish, Lord Megatron." Starscream said.

"_And Starscream?"_

"Yes?"

"_Should he show any hesitation what so ever… kill him."_

With his optics on Spike, who was still looking out for the enemy, Starscream's reply was as short as it was truthful.

"Yes sir."


	5. Here I come

AUTHOR: Sorry for the late update. School has just started and all. I onlyhope there are still people out there who are still intersted in Soldier. PLEASE R&R. My last chapter only got 2 reviews, and one of them was mine. Wanted to see if the review link was busted or something. I know. I'm pathetic. Sue me.

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Chapter 4:...Here I come.

"Sky Squad? Not catchy enough. Flying Eagles? Too corny. Air Fighters? Yeah, I like the sounds of that. Air Fighters."

"Just _what _are you doing, Red 3?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just trying to find a name for our squadrons when we graduate. It's a lot tougher then I thought, I'll tell you that!"

"And just what makes you think you'll graduate with us? You seem to spend more time dreaming about taking on all the Decepticons by yourself then paying attention to our instructor!" snapped an irritated Red 1. This was no surprise, considering he always became serious and a bit on the edge before a training session began.

"Hey, I haven't been doing _that _bad! Besides, I doubt they're gonna throw us in the middle of a battle zone right after graduating. More likely we'll get assigned patrolling Cybertron or something, searching for more of those rebellious Decepticons. And even that isn't all that hard. I'm willing to bet a week's supply of Energon Cubes that those Decepticons that stood any real threat to us were either destroyed or are collecting dust in prison after their failed attempt on capturing the Warp Gate last week."

"We still have Megatron on the loose, Red 3," Red 2 pointed out. Red 2 was a bit of the silent type of the group, but after spending time around those two, he had learned a thing or two in defusing a conversation that was dangerously leaning towards a hotly argument.

"Hey, I got no argue mends there, but come on! Just what is he gonna attack us with? We outnumber him at least eighty to one, and so far it doesn't look like he has established a base of any kind. Also, he has no way of getting access to any kind of supplies or resources. It's only a matter of time before we find him. I only wish I could see his face when we do."

…

Megatron sat in his command chair on the bridge, his fingers neatly pressed against each other as he focused on a massive 3-D map that glowed in front of him. It showed a section of the planet they were orbiting, along with two purple dots and six red dots that had split into two groups. One purple dot was moving towards one of the groups of red dots that were flying dangerously close to the mining site, while the other seemed to have guessed the other group's flying path and was preparing an ambush.

Megatron's expression was about as serious as it could get, and the silence on the bridge was broken when two other Decepticons ran into the bridge.

"M-Megatron, sir! What is going on? Why hasn't the cargo ship returned?"

"Hmm, maybe it has something to do with the fact that our planet seems to have been selected as an Autobot training ground, Demolisher," replied Megatron, still looking at the 3-D map before him. Demolisher was visibly taken aback at the news.

Before he could ask the next course of action, a happy looking Cyclonus jumped up and down and cackled, "Oh goody! Some Autobums to release some tension on! The first one entering orbit is gonna have to clean the launch bay!" With that, Cyclonus made a break for the exit.

"Stand your ground, _soldier!_" bellowed Megatron, and Cyclonus stopped dead in his tracks with one foot on the ground and the other one in the air, making him look like he was about to do some sort of a silly dance.

"….sir?"

"Demolisher, start jamming that planet. I don't want any kinds of transmission coming out or going in."

"Y-yes sir!" Demolisher saluted even though Megatron wasn't looking at him, and then ran towards one of the bridge's controls. After pushing several buttons, he turned towards his superior and said, "Jamming complete, sir."

Megatron did not acknowledge. He continued gazing at the map before him. Behind the mighty Decepticon, Cyclonus had stopped standing on only one foot and taken couple of steps closer to Megatron. He was careful to stop out of Megatron's reach, in case his leader would react….predictably.

"Uh, s-sir? How come you're letting Starscream and the Metal-Squishy handle these Autodorks? Me and Demolisher can just as easily handle 'em!"

Demolisher didn't agree with Cyclonus out loud, but he did share the same thoughts as he gazed at his leader from a safe distance.

"Because of three reasons, Cyclonus. One, seeing how the human will fight the Autobots will give me insights in just how serios he takes his position as one my soldiers. Two, should he show the slightest hesitation in a middle of a fight, that alone will be enough for me to belive he is nothing but a spy, and Starscream will take care of him. Third, should he emerge victorius, I shall give him the benefit of a doubt and I expect you, Cyclonus, to stop bothering me with your pathetic whining! Is that _understood?_" Megatron's bragging changed from smuggness into downright hostile and his optics flashed briefly at the last statement.

"Uh...y-yes sir."

"Good. Now, let's watch the show."

…

"Oh, oh! I know! Aeriel Bots!"

"_Aeriel Bots!_ That has to be the dumbest name for a flight squadron I've ever heard!" responded Red 2. "I'd rather haul garbage then fly under _that_ name!"

A small 'hmph!' was heard from Red 3."Well then, you try to come up with something! You didn't like Flying Daggers either!"

Up untill now, Red 1 had tried his best to just ignore Red 3 as they flew over a desert area that was filled with caves and cannyons, a perfect place for an ambush. Upon hearing Red 3's comment, however, he finally snapped.

"That's because that name has already been taken! In case your memory needs an update, the Flying Daggers just happen to be listed as one of the eighty's top Autobot flying squadrens!" Even though it didn't show, Red 3 was taken aback from Red 1's hostile tone.

"W-well yeah, I-I know, I was just-"

"_And_ if your memory chip is missing some more data, flying under a squadron that has already been taken is illegal by rule number 427543.5, Paragraph J, and could result in being court martialled! "

Red 3 tried to defend himself, but Red 1 didn't allow him. The frustration that had been growing over the past months due to Red 3's carelessnes, his lack of attention during lessons, and overall lazyness just started pouring through Red 1's vocaliser and he just couldn't stop himself, even if he had tried.

As for Red 2, well…

…

In the shadows of one of the canyons below the flying rookies, Spike hovered in his Mech. Its nose was tilted slightly upwards, pointed in the direction the Autobots were flying.

…

"-and you never seem to pay the slightest attention to-" Red 1's angry ramble was violently cut short when two rockets hit Red 2's belly, his most vulnerable place. The young Autobot exploded into a hellish ball of fire, the peaces flying in all directions, hitting the other two stunned rookies.

Below them, Spike flew out of the shadows, going at top speed and heading directly towards them.

"-w-w-what the, h-he just, he just-" Red 3 was brought back from his near-hysteria rambling when laser shots came from under him. Whether it was out of what little he remembered from training or sheer luck, Red 3 managed to twist himself and his only damage was a slight graze on his left wing. Red 1, however, cried out in pain and surprise as his engines were hit.

Spike maneuvered between them at high speed, and then made a quick dive down.

Red 3's moment of disorientation quickly evaporated when he saw the purple insignia on the jet's wings. What the feeling was replaced was…whether it was something that had been programmed into him, or the sight of the burning remains of Red 2, Red 3 felt…hatred. Unimaginable burning hatred that was directly aimed at that killer.

"He's gonna pay!" snarled Red 3 as he engaged his thrusters and followed the Decepticon.

"Red 3, wait!" Red 1 cried out as he also tried to make it to his top speed, but his engines were too badly damaged.

"….he's gonna pay!" snarled Red 3 and engaged his thrusters and followed the Decepticon.

"Red 3, wait!" Red 1 cried out as he tried to match Red 3's speed, but his engines had been damaged by that shot.

…

The area around Spike was hit with laser fire coming from the angry Autobot rookie was hot on his tail. The uncontrollable emotions running through him left little space for logic or reason and he wasn't taking the time to aim properly.

Spike flew close to the ground, making quick turns away from small hills or trees and big rocks while avoiding the laser fire.

"You're gonna pay! You hear me? You're gonna pay!" screamed Red 3 and unleashed another wave of laser shots at Spike, some of them slightly grazing his armor at best. Suddenly, Spike pulled up fast, heading towards the clouded sky. The Autobot quickly followed and continued firing while Spike twisted and turned to avoid getting hit.

Somewhere at the back of Red 3's mind, he thought he could hear Red 1 shouting something, warning him about something. But a quick flashback to Red 2's fate made him push it aside and continued the cat-and-mouse chase.

He didn't care one bit what Red 1 was trying to tell him. This one was his kill.

Spike disappeared through a cloud and Red 3 pushed more power into his engines. As he flew through the cloud, he saw the blue sky, the sun, a bit of stars and-

And no black jet.

"Show yourself you coward! You gotta kill people when they're not looking?" Red 3 looked angrily around, but no sign of the enemy. A flicker of reason finally managed to penetrate his anger.

_He's heading back down, to hide so he can strike again!_

Red 3 dived down quickly. When he cleared through the clouds he had a perfect view of the area.but still there was no sign of the enemy.

_There's no way he could have moved that fast!_

Red 3's desperate thoughts were halted when Red 1's screaming communication reached him.

_"EVADE! He's above you! He's-"_

A dark shadow appeared in the cloud right above Red 3 and Spike emerged in his alt-mode. He landed hard on Red 3's back, his legs breaking pieces of the Autobot's wings. His weight brought Red 3's nose down hard and forced him into a deadly crash course towards the ground below.

"GET OFF ME! You'll kill us both!" shouted Red 3 and tried to transform, but the Mech's legs stopped the wings from retracing itself and the process was cancelled. Without saying a word, Spike raised a fist and brought it down, smashing the Autobot's cockpit windows. Red 3's cry of pain was heard, but Spike ignored it and aimed his right hand at the inside of the cockpit.

A large panel opened on the Mech's arm, and a large grey mini-gun emerged and started slowly spinning. And then-

-and then it unleashed laser shots at point blank range.

Red 3's cry of pain was cut short and became garbled as the shots continued. Smoke coming from his controls, followed by an explosion and a massive fire erupting in his cockpit.

Only then did Spike cease firing. The mini-gun sank back into the arm and he let go of his grip on Red 3 and silently transformed while the Autobot jet continued its course towards the ground, making no attempts to change course.

And all what Red 1 could do, was to watch his comrade, his friend, his brother fall, the fire in the cockpit making him look like a falling comet. So far…so very far away…

"No…" Red 1 breathed, his optics almost shutting down in denial as the remains of Red 3 was swallowed in a massive explosion. At that moment, Red 1 was ripped into two parts.

One howled at him in anger, yelling at him that it was all his fault, that he let his guard down and caused Red 2's death. That after all his training and learning, all what he managed to do was to fight like…like some third grade scrap.

The other part tried to speak reason into him, telling him it wasn't his fault, that there was no way of knowing that the enemy was on the planet, or that they would fly over one. This was just supposed to be another training scenario.

Reason brought little comfort this time.

Red 1 managed to halt his soul-search and bring himself back to the real world. He didn't know for how long he had been 'out', but for some unexplainable reason, he knew where the enemy was. Looking towards the sun, he could just barely make him out, heading straight towards him.

Attacking with the sun behind you. An engagement move that made the target either not notice the attacker, or makes it difficult for them to aim properly. In this case it was the latter, but he'd be damned if he was going down without a fight, busted engine or not.

Turning towards the sun, Red 1 placed as much power into his engines as he could and charged up his guns. He couldn't tell how far away the enemy was, but he guessed he was within gun range and that was good enough.

Red 1 fired towards the sun. He could just barely see his target move and dodge the incoming shots. For a split second he saw flash come from the enemy, and just for a moment, Red 1 thought he had got him.

A slight gasp escaped just before two rockets hit him

…

As the final enemy exploded, Spike turned the flight stick hard to the right so his Mech would not get hit by the burning debris. A quick look on the radar showed no more energy signals, and as far as Spike knew, his now dead targets never managed to send a warning to the second group. Just as he was about to send a message to Starscream, Spike realized just because he had engaged the enemy, it did not mean Starscream had done so as well. He also doubted that his superior required his assistance.

So there was only one thing that he could do. Wait there until he was contacted.

Picking a spot on a hill that gave him a good view, Spike transformed his Mech and landed, slowly looking around the surrounding area. The remains of his first kill were still burning and he could see smoke come from the crater where his second kill had crashed.

He had been outnumbered and outgunned. His skill and experience was probably no bigger then theirs, but their chance of getting him had been high none the less. And yet, he had prevailed. They had tried their best to get him and yet it had not been good enough.

Having those thoughts in his mind and looking at his falling enemies…

…made him feel…good.

"I see you took my lessons to heart, Spike." Having Starscream appear right beside him did not startle the human Decepticon, oddly enough.

"Just trying my best, sir." Spike responded. He dared to turn his head slightly and look at his superios. He could not see any surface damage, but a pink fluid was dripping off his sword. Starscream looked at Spike and opened his mouth, but a transmission reached them before he could speak.

"_Starscream? Come in, Starscream!"_

"Megatron, sir?" Starscream responded, looking slightly up to the sky.

"_What's your status?"_

"All hostiles have been taken care of without any signs of complications, sir."

"_Excellent. Return back to the Energon cave and supervise the mining. Out."_

The transmission ended and Starscream turned to Spike. His face bore his usual neutral expression, but it was…slightly different in subtle places.

"It would seem that you have been trained fully enough to be able to handle yourself in air-combat, Spike. But allow me to give you one final lesson." Spike could feel himself blink slightly at these…most unexpected words.

"Y-yes, sir?"

"Identify your target. Concentrate your fire on it to the exclusion of all else. When it is destroyed choose another target. That is the way to secure victory."

It felt like a code or something that Starscream was reciting to him. But whatever it was, it rang true, and Spike started reciting it at the back of his head. It just felt the right thing to do.

"…yes sir." Starscream nodded. Both of them transformed to fly back to the cave.

The two jets flew away, leaving nothing but burning debris and smoldering crater. And the recorder continued turning, recording everything.

……………………………………………

…………………………………………….

Please R&R..


End file.
